Description: Collagen fiber is an elongated fiber made composed of collagen glycoproteins found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissues. It’s usually arranged in indefinitely long branching bundles. It is an insoluble fiber with a high strength.

Function: Supports body tissue and collagen is a major component of the extracellular matrix that support cells.

Location: Connective tissue such as in cartilage, bones, tendons, ligaments, and skin

Description: Has many elastic fibers

Function: Provide strength, extensibility (ability to stretch), and elasticity (ability to return to its shape after stretching) to skin

Location: Skin, lungs, arteries, veins, connective tissue proper, elastic cartilage, periodontal ligament, fetal tissue.

Description: Network of reticular fibers in a typical loose ground substance; reticular cells predominate

Function: Fibers form a soft internet skeleton that supports other cell types

Location: Lymphoid organs (lymph nodes, bone marrow, and spleen)

Description: A form of connective tissue made up of strands of protein fibres (collagen and elastin) and cells like fibroblasts, mast cells, macrophages, and fat cells in a gel-like matrix.

Function: wraps and cushion organs, phagocytes engulf bacteria, helps in inflammation, holds and conveys tissue fluid

Location: Widely distributed under epithelia of body, packages organs, surrounds capilliaries.

Description: Dense, regular CT is a white, flexible tissue with closely packed collagen fibre bundles. All of these fibers run in the same direction and are positioned parallel to the direction of forces acting on the body portion where the tissue is found.

Function: attaches muscles to bones or to muscles, attaches bones to bones, and withstands great tensile strength

Location: tendons and ligaments

Description: Irregular connective tissue is a type of connective tissue that has a dense irregular network of collagen and elastic fiber bundles in its intercellular matrix.

Function: It offers strength to the skin, making it resistant to tearing from various straining forces.

Location: Lower layers of the skin (dermis) and in the protective white layer of the eyeball.

Description: Matrix as in areolar, but very sparse; closely packed adipocytes, have nucleus pushed to the side by large fat droplet

Function: Provides reserve food fuel; insulates against heat loss; supports and protects organs

Location: Under skin; around kidneys and eyeballs; within abdomen; in breasts

Description: Hard, calcified matrix containing many collagen fibers; osteocytes lie in lacunae. Very well vascularized.

Function: Bone supports and protects, provides levers for the muscles to act on; stores calcium and other minerals and fat; marrow inside bones is the site for blood cell formation

Location: Bones

Description: Is the specialized connective tissue within the circulatory system that transports blood cells and dissolved substances throughout the body via blood vessels. As all connective tissue, it has cellular and extracellular components.

Function: Is a bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances, such as nutrients and oxygen, to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.

Location: Blood vessels

Description: Fibroblast-like cells, which can be spindle or stellate shaped, make up mucous connective tissue.

Function: High turgor to resist compression

Location: Umbilical cord